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Food

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Spot the Block Program Background

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) created Spot the Block to educate children to use the Nutrition Facts label to better manage their diets. 

  • The program is a part of the Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) commitment to help Americans live longer, better, healthier lives by reducing overweight and obesity, poor nutrition and inactivity. 
  • Preventing overweight and obesity in the early years can help young people stay healthy and can help prevent health problems in adulthood.

Since the late 1980s, adult obesity has steadily increased to the point at which more than 65 percent of all Americans are now overweight and over 30 percent are obese. Also, 15 percent of children and adolescents ages 6 to 19 are overweight - nearly double the rate of two decades ago.  

Tween (boy) pointing to the Nutrition Facts label

  • Overweight and obesity increase the risk of coronary heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and certain cancers.
  • According to some estimates, obesity results in thousands of deaths a year and accounts for $117 billion in U.S. health care expenses annually.

FDA is working in concert with DHHS to combat the obesity problem. 

  • In 2004 FDA's Obesity Working Group (OWG) developed an action plan to address the overweight and obesity problem within the scope of FDA's regulatory authority.
  • The OWG recommendations centered on the scientific fact that weight control is primarily a function of caloric balance and therefore "calories count" when combating overweight/obesity.
  • One recommendation was that FDA establish educational strategies and partnerships to support appropriate messages and teach people, particularly children, how to lead healthier lives through better nutrition.

Spot the Block - Get Your Food Facts First

Spot the Block is one "small step" tweens (and their parents) can take, in accordance with the Small Steps initiative from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

    
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